Program Manager - Canada

ISD is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to safeguarding human rights and reversing the rising tide of polarisation, extremism and disinformation worldwide.

About the Strong Cities Network

Launched at the United Nations in 2015, Strong Cities is an independent global network of more than 250 cities and other local governments dedicated to addressing all forms of hate, extremism and polarisation at a local level. The Network fills a critical gap in efforts that have traditionally overlooked the unique roles that sub-national governments can play in preventing and responding to these threats, complementing both existing security-led measures and grassroots efforts led by civil society stakeholders.

Why work for Strong Cities at ISD?

This opportunity will be specific to supporting the y in developing a crisis response guide and establishing their crisis management capacity as part of its efforts to institutionalise crisis management and response capabilities and systems at the municipal level.

The Strong Cities Network is hosted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Recruitment for this role will be managed by, and the successful candidate contracted by, ISD. For more information on ISD’s recruitment policies and processes, visit the ISD website.

Salary

CAD: 92,500 - 121,000 (Subject to funding)

Location

Based in Canada, remote working available. Unfortunately, we cannot provide Visa sponsorship for this vacancy at this time. 

Hours

Full time / 40 hours per week / Fixed term for 24 months. (Subject to funding)

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

ISD is committed to promoting diversity throughout its workforce and aims for its team to be truly representative of all sections of society. We make a concerted effort to ensure our workplace, employment policies and organisational culture creates an inclusive, positive and progressive environment in which all members of our team are treated with dignity and respect. For further information about this policy or our recruitment practices, please email vacancies@isdglobal.org.

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, carers, and people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

The role

The Program Manager will work as part of the Strong Cities Management Unit to deliver project activities with a range of municipality-level stakeholders in Canada, as part of a newly funded program and partnership with the Canadian Center for Safer Communities and the Foundation for a Path Forward focusing on mayors and other local elected leaders and local governments across Canada. The role will also support Strong Cities programming and partnership opportunities across Canada as part of its North America Hub. 

Key responsibilities include:

Project management and delivery (60%) 

• Lead on project delivery, including stakeholder management and planning with municipal government, subject-matter experts (SMEs), civil society organizations (CSOs), youth, and other local stakeholders as required.  

• Lead on the updating of existing and, coordinating efforts (with the SMEs and relevant Strong Cities Management Unit team members) to develop training modules related to the upskilling of mayors and other local elected leaders and municipal officials on the prevention of hate, extremism and social polarization.   

• Maintain and build relations with project stakeholders (donors, external leadership partners, subject matter expert consultants, city governments and their local partners, etc.) 

Research and communications (10%) 

• Conduct research into municipal-level approaches, policies, and programs. 

• Undertake analysis of and communicate research content, including across Strong Cities membership. 

Stakeholder engagement, external representation and program development (10%)

• Represent Strong Cities Network’s work in Canada and, where appropriate, other Strong Cities’ efforts, with government and civil society stakeholders in North America.

Institutional support (10%) 

• Advise to the wider Strong Cities team on prevention programming. 

Project administration (10%)

• Assist in project administration and ensuring that key project and grant management systems and tools are used effectively. 

To view the full job description and responsibilities, please click here.

The ideal candidate

The post holder will have strong project management, written and oral communication, organizational and administrative skills and experience working in the hate and extremism prevention and/or social polarization or community cohesions fields. This individual should have strong attention to detail and desire to travel within Canada for multi-day trips several times per year. They will bring energy to the role and possess a strong work ethic and attention to detail.  They will have demonstrated in previous roles the ability to work both independently and as part of a dynamic team environment and be motivated to contribute actively to the Strong Cities global mission.

Please review our  job description for essential criteria, and keep in mind that no candidate will meet every requirement in the advert. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified, but you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to hear from you.

How to apply

Please submit your application via our website by 9th April 2025. ISD reserves the right to interview and appoint candidates prior to the advertised closing date.

If you have any further questions about this vacancy or want to speak to a member of our recruitment team, please contact vacancies@isdglobal.org.